Chapter 35, Song 35...

Finally, on the eve of President Liu's wedding, Qu Jiaying and the other three arrived at the venue a day early. Their formal attire was delivered to their rooms: three tuxedos and a ladies' dress in the same color scheme as the bridesmaids.

Qu Jiaying tried on the pink dress. It didn't look particularly special, but it looked great on her. The material was also very comfortable and didn't affect her activities at all.

Le Yi, Yan Zheng, and Xiang Min also tried on black tuxedos, which made them look exceptionally sharp. They usually only wear suits for performances or competitions, so the tuxedos really made them feel strange.

Qu Jiaying suppressed a laugh and praised them enthusiastically: "What's so strange about it? You're all incredibly handsome. If you apply some hair gel the day after tomorrow, you'll look absolutely amazing."

"It's really awkward." Le Yi kept turning his head to look at the patch that was growing out from under the hem of his clothes.

Yan Zheng kept fiddling with the hem of his clothes, and asked Min curiously, "What are you doing?"

"In Tom and Jerry, doesn't Tom lift his tuxedo before sitting down to play the piano?" Yan Zheng wanted to imitate.

Qu Jiaying couldn't hold back her laughter any longer and burst into loud laughter.

Yan Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. His foolish act had actually helped Qu Jiaying relax, which was a good thing.

Although Qu Jiaying gave up the idea of ​​turning down the performance, she was still very concerned about the problem that her performance was not good enough.

The four of them walked out chatting and laughing. The wedding was in a Western style, with the ceremony taking place in a large hall converted from a church, and the dinner afterwards was on the large lawn outside the hall.

Therefore, the "three missing one" quartet will perform during the ceremony in the auditorium, and they will continue to perform on the lawn while other guests are dining, with breaks in between.

However, the wedding staff reminded the four of them to eat more before the next day, as the entire process, from the ceremony to the end of the meal and the gradual departure of guests, took about three hours.

"The playlist has been confirmed, there are no problems. By the way, do you need a microphone?" the staff member asked.

“It might not be needed inside the auditorium, but it might be necessary for a performance on the lawn,” Xiang Min said.

"Can we go do a sound check later?" Yan Zheng asked.

The staff had no objections, gave them the planned location map, and then hurried off.

"I'd like to see the pipe organ first," Yue Yi said enthusiastically.

"I'll go with you." Yan Zheng was also very curious.

Qu Jiaying pointed to a corner of the auditorium: "I'll go there to audition."

"Then I'll go check out the lawn," Xiang Min said.

The four of them split up, with the organ playing upstairs in the auditorium. When the newlyweds left after the ceremony, Le Yi would play Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on the organ.

Le Yi tried playing a scale, and the wonderful sound of the organ resounded in the auditorium. Yan Zheng also played around with the keyboard with one finger.

Le Yi got into a good mood and spontaneously played a variation of the Wedding March.

Qu Jiaying called out, "That's about enough, I need to do a sound check downstairs."

Le Yi and Yan Zheng poked their heads out: "We'll be right down."

The auditorium still retains many of the church's design elements, including the enormous pipe organ and stained glass windows through which sunlight filters and casts changing colors onto the marble-like floor.

Le Yi and Yan Zheng came down the steep stairs to Qu Jiaying's side.

“Let’s try it out as a trio. The auditorium’s structure should amplify the sound,” Qu Jiaying said.

They played in the area to the side and in front of the first row of guests. The three of them tried playing a short piece first and felt that the sound had good penetrating power.

Le Yi stood up and walked to the back: "I'll go listen at the door."

After Qu Jiaying and Yan Zheng waited for him to sit in the last row, they played another piece.

"No problem! The sound is very clear." Le Yi gave an OK sign.

The three of them felt relieved, put away their respective instruments, and walked out together to find Xiang Min.

Xiang Min sat in the chair, looking upset.

"What happened in just a short time?" Qu Jiaying asked.

"It's nothing," Xiang Min said, unwilling to elaborate.

"How's the sound quality?" Yan Zheng asked him, getting down to business.

"The microphone is of very good quality, but the staff are unsure whether the music should be played so loudly during the meal," Xiang Min said.

As the four were talking, the protagonist of the wedding arrived in a large entourage.

"Hello, you're all talented young people. I'm Liu Ru. I didn't have time to get to know you last time because I was in such a rush," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

Xiang Min was always in charge of social interactions, but he became depressed whenever he saw Liu Ru.

If Yan Zheng were to take his place, he would only awkwardly offer a greeting.

Qu Jiaying stepped forward reluctantly, and said with a smile, "Thank you for inviting us. It's not too late to get to know each other now. Let us wish you a happy marriage first."

"It's my honor to have you provide the music for my wedding. By the way, this is my daughter, Liu Han. She plays the harp and is a little younger than you all," Liu Ru introduced.

The girl behind Liu Ru greeted him sweetly, then smiled shyly and said, "I've already met that brother." She pointed to Xiang Min.

“Since we’ve already met them, let’s learn from them,” Liu Ru said.

Liu Han smiled sweetly.

Qu Jiaying thought to herself, "This girl must be in high school by now. It's really not easy for her to be a bridesmaid at her father's and stepmother's wedding."

"Sister, can I add you on social media?" Liu Han took out her phone.

"Oh, okay." Qu Jiaying nodded.

Liu Ru nodded with satisfaction, then remembered something: "You received the dress, right? My wife designed it."

"I really like it; it's both beautiful and comfortable," Qu Jiaying said politely.

Yan Zheng quickly echoed.

"That's good." Liu Ru saw that his daughter had added his contact information and then led the group away, while instructing his assistant, "Tomorrow, besides the dress, remember to give them the gift box."

Qu Jiaying and the other three returned to their hotel room next to the auditorium.

Even the richest people are good at saving money. The wedding staff booked a family room for the four of them, which was barely enough, but they didn't care about gender at all.

Since they had already squeezed into one room before, Qu Jiaying had no objections.

Back in their family room, which had a double bed, a single bed, and a sofa, the four of them started ranting and raving.

“Seeing how President Liu treats his daughter, I understand why his wife hasn’t shown up,” Le Yi said.

"Now I finally understand why no one cares about the song selection," Qu Jiaying sighed.

"It's obvious that President Liu has given us the reins. His new wife can't get involved. I reckon he's taken care of everything, including the so-called clothing design," Yan Zheng analyzed.

Xiang Min remained silent.

"What's wrong with you?" Qu Jiaying asked again.

Yan Zheng laughed and said, "No need to ask any more questions, I just exchanged a few words with that young girl, Liu Han."

Xiang Min was exhausted and didn't want to say anything. He got up and left.

Le Yi complained to Yan Zheng, "Can you please stop provoking him all the time?"

Yan Zheng rolled her eyes at him: "You don't understand anything, so don't worry about how we get along."

Le Yi really couldn't understand, while Qu Jiaying acted as if she hadn't seen anything, as she was looking at Liu Han's updates.

Liu Han has won an international award in the junior group. Her harp playing is very good, much better than the harpist in Qu Jiaying's school symphony orchestra.

No wonder Liu Han has already studied at a prestigious music academy in France and has also performed in concert halls in China.

In addition, Liu Han also entered the entertainment industry and played some minor roles.

Qu Jiaying guessed that Liu Ru might have also made arrangements and provided sponsorship. Liu Ru was in the cosmetics business, and his beauty products were very popular. She herself even had his foundation.

A short while later, Liu Han sent a message to Qu Jiaying.

"That cello player is really bad. My dad specially invited my sister to play, so she's probably not just bragging, right? I hope she won't disappoint me."

Qu Jiaying gave a cold laugh.

Le Yi and Yan Zheng asked cautiously, "What's wrong?"

Qu Jiaying took a screenshot and sent it to the "three missing one" group for them to see: "I feel sorry for them, how ridiculous."

"So Xiang Min was hit?" Yan Zheng asked, puzzled.

“He won’t be upset because a girl said his playing was bad,” Le Yi said.

"So that's why I am?" Qu Jiaying said indignantly.

“Nobody said that,” Le Yi said with a smile.

However, it was obvious that Qu Jiaying was still touched on a sore spot. She also knew that she had not performed well enough, so she opened the violin case and continued to practice.

The performance lasted nearly three hours, and in addition to familiar and cheerful dance music, they also included some pieces from Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (from which the "Wedding March" is based) and Wagner's "Lohengrin" (from which the "Wedding March" is based).

Qu Jiaying needs to practice the parts she's unsure about again.

Le Yi and Yan Zheng also need to continue to improve their skills.

The three practiced the piano for a while longer, until they were starving but Xiang Min still hadn't returned. Anxious, they glanced at the group messages and saw that Xiang Min had replied with an ellipsis under the screenshot of Qu Jiaying's chat with Liu Han.

Qu Jiaying and the other two were relieved to know that Xiang Min was alright. They went out to find food, but when they returned, Xiang Min was still nowhere to be found.

"I think some things still need to be changed. Why isn't Xiang Min back yet?" Qu Jiaying said irritably.

Le Yi called Xiang Min.

"Le Yi? I'm fine. I just took a walk around the neighborhood to clear my head. I'll be back in a bit," Xiang Min said before hanging up.

"It's good that you're back late. I'll sleep in the single bed, and you two can sleep in the double bed. Let Xiang Min, who's the last one to come back, squeeze onto the sofa," Qu Jiaying said irritably.

"No, no, no," Yan Zheng refused. "Two men squeezing into one bed is not as good as one person squeezing onto the sofa."

Le Yi smiled and said, "Since you two are close, you can sleep in the big bed and I can squeeze onto the sofa. Isn't that perfect?"

"Let's play rock-paper-scissors," Yan Zheng suggested.

As Qu Jiaying watched the two of them fight over not sharing a bed with someone of the same sex, she once again felt that she couldn't understand men.

After Qu Jiaying finished washing up, Le Yi and Yan Zheng had also decided who won.

Le Yi lost the rock-paper-scissors game, but he gets to enjoy the large bed all to himself until Xiang Min returns.

Qu Jiaying turned off the lights. Tomorrow's performance would be long, so all three of them closed their eyes and went to sleep to conserve their energy for tomorrow.

Late at night, at an unknown time, the door quietly opened and closed.

Xiang Min found Qu Jiaying's bedside by the faint light from his phone screen.

"...Xiang Min?" Qu Jiaying asked, still a little dazed.

“It’s me.” Xiang Min squatted down and pressed his head against her palm.

"Go and rest," Qu Jiaying murmured.

"Can I come up?" Xiang Min whispered, "Just for one night."

Qu Jiaying, half-awake and half-dazed, felt her palms were a little wet. Was Xiang Min crying?